One Sunset
by Roguie
Summary: John and Aeryn spend a reflective moment after the LatP Trilogy.


A/N: Well, here we go with my second Farscape fic, short as it is. Placed sometime near after the LatP Trilogy, and is really rather plotless. Hopefully it sounds all right and you'll all enjoy.  
  
Comments are always welcome, either here or by email. I always appreciate knowing that others are reading what I write. :) Again, I apologize if I'm treading on others territory; as I've said in the past, I hardly read fan fiction, so if I've stepped on toes, I really do apologize. This was honestly just a moment that invaded my head late at night and needed to be written down.  
  
They're not mine, quite obviously. They belong to the Henson Company, Rockne S. O'Bannon, et al. I just like to borrow them sometimes and mutate their inner voices. What can I say? It's fun.  
  
  
One Sunset  
  
By: Danae Bowen  
  
Email: logansfox@rogers.com  
  
  
  
At first he nearly gave into the urge to turn around. Somewhere deep within the Human, the southern gentleman his family had tried to raise still existed and that part of him was screaming for him to close his eyes, turn his back, return to the transport pod, anything to just get the hell away from that lake.  
  
The southern gentleman in him waged war against the raw maleness a certain dark haired Sebacean beauty brought out in him, and whether it be fortunate or unfortunate, his dominating male side celebrated victory. John Crichton, pilot and ex-astronaut, stepped forward out of the brush that covered his approach and allowed his eyes to feast on the sight before him.  
  
She bathed unaware of his presence, her pale body a stark brightness against the dark waters. John's breath caught in his throat as he watched her slip below the surface, only to reappear moments later, her long dark hair cascading down her bare back as rivulets of water graced her flesh. Her back to the shore, Aeryn Sun remained oblivious to her observer as she gloried in the feel of the cool fresh liquid against her battle tired body.   
  
Raised a Peacekeeper, Aeryn knew the frivolity in her actions as she basked in the peaceful late afternoon. Her mind told her that Moya's cleansing fluids were more practical and with Peacekeeper squadrons on their trail, her dalliance in the water was nothing but a waste of time, however the part of her the Human brought to life begged her to remain a little longer.  
  
Crichton reminded her that under the leather and weapons, a woman existed within her pale flesh; a woman who's voice was becoming far more demanding than she'd heard in her entire life. A woman she'd listened to once, only to discover that she and Crichton were biologically compatible, a fact that only served to distract Aeryn further from her attempts to separate herself from the beguiling human. Her training said it was a desecration of all things natural, but she tasted it the last time they kissed; how could something so sweet be that wrong?  
  
A short distance behind her John grew closer to the shoreline, stopping to sit upon a large rock. He leaned back, unaware of the battle waging in Aeryn's mind as he watched her sink below the surface once again. He strained his eyes against the dying light around them, scanning the calm lake waters for her as she stayed below far longer than the time before. When she did finally crest into his view, John couldn't stop the slow smile from tugging at the corners of his lips. His fingers stretched out against his thighs, the black leather of his pants suddenly far too warm for his comfort, but he made no move to release himself from his growing discomfort. Aeryn was not a creature he could rush, and if it took a thousand dying afternoons of watching her swim but never being able to touch, then he'd sit on a thousand rocks in the hope that there would be a day she'd turn and beckon him towards her.  
  
He slid to the ground, his back pressed against his former makeshift chair as he watched Aeryn shake her hair free of the stubborn droplets of clinging water. He knew she was nearly ready to turn for shore, could see it in the tensing of her back and shoulders even as far from her as he now sat, and yet he refused to hide himself in the shadows. When Aeryn returned to the beach to gather her belongings, she'd find John seated as he was now, watching her with open admiration. He smiled softly once again, content for now to devour the sight of her naked flesh as she so very slowly learned to relax.  
  
Aeryn sighed a final time as she allowed a last stream of water to run over her. She'd indulged longer than her Peacekeeper side would allow, and though she wished she could remain, she didn't miss the sun lowering on the horizon. She turned towards the beach, at first not noticing the form hidden in the shadows of the boulder against which he rested, but, as she grew closer, John's presence could no longer be denied.  
  
Her flesh heated as her gaze was drawn to him, whether from desire or the sudden self-consciousness that flowed through her body, she couldn't say, but she couldn't miss the way his eyes raked over the ever-increasing amount of flesh she was bearing in the dimming light. She swallowed with difficulty, her mind torn between remaining where she was and demanding he leave or playing his game and risk losing everything left of the person she'd been before his arrival. Still, no matter what war her mind waged with her heart, she found herself moving towards the shore.  
  
When she stood only waist deep, her breasts bared to his gaze, her damp skin sparkling in the last dying embers of the sinking sun, she caught his suddenly hungry stare once more, and a smile pulled at her lips.  
  
"Enjoying the view, Crichton?"  
  
Her eyes didn't miss the flick of his tongue over his too dry lips as his gaze raked over her chest before returning to her face. He nodded a moment, cleared his throat and swallowed hard. "You know it."  
  
"Shall I get you a recorder, then? Wouldn't want you to strain those pretty blue eyes." She snapped her jaw shut, surprised at herself for the ease at which she teased him.   
  
//What the frell are you doing, Aeryn?// Her mind screamed at her, and yet, still, she couldn't bring herself to hide from his awe.  
  
John smiled then, drawing his lower lip between his teeth as he watched her with raised eyebrows. "Darlin', there are just some things pictures can't do justice."  
  
Aeryn sighed, flustered to find herself suddenly shy, more so to find herself silently begging him to get to his feet and join her in the cool lake. Instead she moved forward, slowly now, John's gaze burning into each inch of new flesh slipping out of the water growing more shallow with each tentative step.  
  
John climbed to his feet, forcing his gaze away from the beautiful form of Aeryn's body as he walked towards her belongings, picking up her towel, and turning back to the shore. In his mind he knew she wasn't ready for everything the situation offered them and he knew he wouldn't act on the feelings suddenly rampaging through his body, but he wasn't going to let her off easily this time.  
  
His nod beckoned her forward; she moved onto the beach as he drank in the sight of her damp flesh. He bit the inside of his lip, his expression remaining neutral, the only betrayal to his stoic visage being the fire of longing and desire in his eyes.  
  
When Aeryn moved close enough for him to touch, he slowly wrapped the towel around her chilling body, mourning the loss of her nakedness, glorying in the feel of her in his arms once more. His hands moved over her back slowly, inch by inch drying her skin of the water droplets that remained. He moved to her stomach, losing himself in the sound of her deepened breathing and soft gasps as his hands traveled lower still, caring for her thighs, her calves, and then back again. His gentle touch feathered over her bottom, her ribs, her breasts until finally the sheen that brightened her flesh was not from the lake's moisture but from the heat of desire that he'd brought to life with the smallest of gestures.  
  
When no excuse remained for his hands to linger on her soft skin, John stepped away, swallowing hard. Aeryn's eyes met his, dazed, confused, but slowly understanding dawned and she nodded wordlessly.  
  
John's legs were shaky as he turned away, glancing at the sun, now a deep orange and low on the horizon, as Aeryn moved to her clothing. He allowed his imagination to run free as the sounds of her clothing rustling over her body reached his ears. He closed his eyes, the vision of her naked flesh burned into his memory as his imagination vividly filled in the image of her dressing mere feet behind him. This afternoon would not be one he forgot easily or any time in the near future.  
  
His eyes snapped open when her hand rested on his back and she came to stand next to him. Together they watched the sun sink below the horizon and the beach around them dimmed in darkness, lit only by the faint glow of the now rising moon and the many stars above.  
  
Both knew it was time they returned to the transport pod, and yet both were reluctant to leave this moment of peace for the unpredictable life they led aboard Moya. They'd started something today neither was sure the other was ready to face, and yet, neither regretted their actions of the day. Once aboard Moya, Aeryn would see that John not come to depend on their stolen moments as evidence of the future he could see for them, and yet, John would see that Aeryn not forget the possibility of a time and place they could be together.  
  
"We should get back." Aeryn's words weren't cold, they were said on a sigh that caused John's heart to falter and then beat more quickly than he would have thought possible. He heard the regret in her voice that gave him more hope than any single shared moment had done in the last cycle. Unconsciously, he reached out for her as she moved away, and she turned back, meeting his gaze with calm expectation.  
  
He drew her back to him, lowering his head slowly, drawing out the moment as long as he could before his lips met hers in a gentle caress. They mutually deepened the kiss, tongues touching in a soft exploratory motion, Aeryn's body molding itself to John's, hands traveling from hair to backs to bottoms, only to return to each others hair once more. When the moment passed, their breathing heavy, their bodies burning with the need for each other that would remain yet again unfulfilled, their lips met in one final, lingering embrace.  
  
John tilted his head forward, his forehead resting against Aeryn's as they allowed themselves a moment to slow their rapidly beating hearts, before they moved apart once more.   
  
It was just another day, another kiss, another microt that they'd stolen from their lives to remind each other that one morning in the future they would not wake up alone. Both sighed as they turned back towards the transport pod and walked away from the beach: Aeryn once again the quasi-tamed Peacekeeper and John once again watching her through eyes filled with longing.   
  
End. 


End file.
